This invention relates generally to electronic devices and, more particularly, relates to a universal remote control or universal remote control/telephone combination with touch operated user interface having tactile feedback.
Remote controls including universal remote controls for controlling the operation of home appliances are well known. In this regard, a universal remote control functions by consolidating three, four, five, and more remote controls into one device. Also known in the art is combining the functionality of a universal remote control and a cordless telephone handset into a single unit as contemplated by, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,138,649 entitled “Portable Telephone Handset with Universal Remote Control” which patent is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
As more remotely controllable appliances enter the homes of consumers and the number of remotely controllable operations increase, the user interface of the universal remote control becomes increasingly more complex. This complexity arises from the need to provide more and more keys which are used to initiate the transmission of the control codes that control the burgeoning number of operations of the increasing number of home appliances. When included, the addition of telephone functionality further increases the complexity, or clutter, of the user interface. Disadvantageously, as the user interface of the universal remote control becomes more cluttered, the usability of the universal remote control diminishes.
In an attempt to solve this problem, universal remote controls which comprise a touch screen or touch screen-like interface, for example, a transparent or translucent touch sensitive surface overlaid upon an LCD, or a flexible EL display panel positioned above a grid of pressure sensitive switches, have been proposed. Thus, by selectively illuminating portions of the LCD or EL segments, the user may be presented with keys (i.e., “soft keys”) to command different functions for different appliances in manner that serves to relatively simplify the user interface. Such universal remote control devices/interfaces are described in, for example, commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 10/288,727 entitled “User Interface for a Hand Held Universal Remote Control Device” and 10/410,103 entitled “Universal Remote Control with a Local Screen Guided Setup,” which published applications for patent are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
While this technology has served to simplify operation of universal remote controls, a new disadvantage is introduced by this technology, that being a lack of tactile feedback to assist the user in locating a key position and/or in the perception of key actuation. Accordingly, a need exists for a universal remote control, with or without added cordless telephone functionality, having an improved user interface that simplifies the operation of the universal remote control and, as such, the remote operation of consumer appliances, while still providing appropriate tactile feedback to a user.